SNS

Kalimpong,23rd Sept

Hours after Gorkha Jan Mukti Morcha (GJMM) chief Bimal Gurung threatened a 12-hour strike on 28 September over chief minister Miss Mamata Banerjee’s claim on Thursday that a budget of Rs 4000 crore has been sanctioned till now for the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, Miss Banerjee hit back at the GJMM chief by declaring that no bandh will be allowed.

The chief minister also declared that she will keep visiting the Hills and no one has the right to stop her. Addressing a gathering in Kalimpong today, Miss Banerjee said: “Am I not coming to the Hills after this? Will Aroop Biswas never visit the Hills? I will come to the Hills; it is your love that draws me towards you...No bandh will be observed. Bandh hampers tourism which is synonymous with the development of the Hills. If tourism suffers,how will most of you earn your livelihood?”

“The Hills have their own natural colour which is vivid and mesmerising. But avoid the colour of blood. Bloodshed and violence will not be allowed across the Hills.We should check every instance of instability here in the best interest of the Hills people,”she said.

Notably, a leader of GJMM had earlier said that state PWD minister Aroop Biswas will not be allowed to enter the Hills after he made some disparaging remarks about Mr Gurung.

Further, in recent times there has been a lot of controversy on alleged statements having been made against certain communities in the Hills, directing them to leave Darjeeling.

On the GJMM-levelled allegations that the setting up of various caste-based development boards is intended to create divisions in the Hills,Miss Banerjee opined that it is the incompetence of the concerned ~ referring to the GTA ~ which forced her to constitute these boards. “If you were initiating development projects here, I would not have to constitute development boards in the Hills.
“As you have failed to develop Hills, I am granting and further assisting all the boards.You do your own work, and let me do mine. I have never interfered in their development projects,”

Miss Banerjee said. She maintained that she has always worked with a positive plan and each of her decisions is intended for the best interest of the common man. “I am in Hills with a plan. My plan is to develop the Hills. If Hills remain in peace, we will remain in peace... I want to see doctors, engineers, bureaucrats to come up from the Hills,” she added.